Boiler feed



Oct. 9, l1951 D. MCBRIDE 2,570,961

' v BOILER FEED Filed June 28,l 1946 3 Sheetsf-Sheet 1 D. MCBRIDE Oct.9, 1951 BOILER FEED 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 28, 1946 D. MCBRIDEBoLER FEED Oct. 9, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 28, 1946 Patentedct. 9, 1951 FFICE BorLER FEED nen-oy McBride, Twin Fans, realmApplication v.rune 2s, 194e, seria1No.'6so,047

This invention relates to a means for automatieally feeding water tosteam boilers. An'object of this invention is to provide a positivemeans for Vautomatically maintaining a predetermined water level in alboiler which will eliminate all forms of packing glands.'Y Y Anotherobject of this invention isto provide a feeder for a boiler wherein thewater enters the boiler after equalization of steam pressure in thefeeding tank.

A-further object of this invention is to provide an improved feedingmeans including a feeding tankv connected to a source of water, and alsoconnected to the boiler, the tank having float operated valve meanswhereby the steampressure inthe tank will be equalized in order that thewater in the tank may gravitatingly flow into the boiler.

A further object of this invention isto provide a boiler feeding meansof this kind which includes an electrically operated water supply valvewhich is actuated by oat means connected tothe vboiler so'that` thewater level in the boiler can be maintained at a predetermined level.

Afurther object of this invention is to provide a feeding means of thiskind which will operate on either high or low water pressures and eitherhigh or low steam pressures.

Withthe above and other objects in View, my

invention consists in the arrangement, combination'and details ofconstruction disclosed in the drawings and specification, and then moreparticularly pointed Vout in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Wherein similar reference Vcharacters designate similar parts throughoutthe respective views,

Figure 1 is a detail side elevation, partly broken away and inperspective, of a boiler and boiler feeding means constructed accordingto arrembodiment of this invention, Y l

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken through the boiler feedingstructure showing the structure with the tank substantially empty, l Y

Figure 3 is a view, similar to Fi'gure`2,'s ho wing theftank full.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral I0 designates generally a boilerof conventional construction which has a water glass V'I I indicatingthe heighth of water in the boiler.` The boiler Iii has Yextending fromthe top thereof a steam outlet I2 which has a valve I3 of conventionalconstruction secured thereto. Y

7 Claims. (Cl. 137-7101) 2 a Vplatform or supporting member vI5 disposedabove the Vlevel'of the'boiler I0. The feeding tank I4'has connectedwith the YbottomV thereof an outlet pipe I6 which is connected, as atI1, t0 the 4boiler '10. Thejpipe I6 is'inclined tothe horizontal 'sothat the water rpassingthrough the pipe I6 will freely enterthe boilerI0. AY-rear- 'wardly closing check valve I8 is interposed in the pipe'l`and preferably a 'second check valve I9' is` also interposed'in the pipevH5vr at a point closely adjacent the feeding tank I4.V

The tank Ill includes-a cylindrical horizontally disposed wall 2S havinga head 2| secured -to one end thereof.V VA second-head 22fis secured tothe opposite end'of the body 2l)A andv is'-formedf with a relativelylarge Vopening -23A which is closed-by a plate or head 24. The plate orhead 24 is detachably secured to'the fixed head 22 by fasteningme1nbers'25. The head 24 has rockably secured to the inner side thereofa lower float 26 which is carried -by a pivoted lever 21 Ypivotallysecured as at 28 to the inner side of head'24.v Y

VAseeond or intermediateeoatZS is disposed in the'feeding tank I4, beingfixed to an elongated leverY 3G which ispivotally secured as at -3I tothe outer end portion-of a supporting barv 32 which is flxedrelativetothehead 24. Athird'or upper float 33, carried by aisupporting lever 34`is `disposedjaboveV the intermediate float 29y and is rockably mountedas at 35 on an inwardly projecting supporting bracket arm 36 -Xed to theinner Vside of head 24. The lever arm 30 of the intermediateoat 29 hasprojecting downwardly therefrom a foot member l31 which overlies thefloat 26 so that when thev tank I4 is being lled oatfZ will initially'cause upward movement of Yfloat 29 therewith. Y i

` In order to assistin the upward movement of the two iioats'26and 29,I'haveprovided'a balance lever 38-l pivotallyrmounted' as at- 39` on theinner portion of supporting arm `32".-v 'The balance arm V'38 isconnected at itsl inner end by meansv of l'a link Mito the inner endportion of the float lever 30." The'rear end of thebalance leverAor armk38 has a-weight 4I mounted thereonrandadapted to vbe lengthwiselyadjusted to-provide the "necessary balancedn Sorder that the'twol floats26 and-29 may freely rise with the flllirg'of the tank with water. l

In order to hold'the Vtwo lfloats -26`and 29 against upward movement'until the tank I4 becomes substantially filled with water, Ihaveprovided alocking member i2v whichfis carriedby the pivot member 35and is adapted, during the intial'fillng of lthe tank I4, to engage a,lroller 43 which is carried by an ear 44 fixed to the float arm or lever39. The locking member 42 has a shoe 45 at its lower end which isadapted to engage the roller 43 during the initial filling of the tankso as to thereby lock the two floats and 29 against initial upwardmovement.

When the tank I4 becomes substantially filled with water, oat 33 willrise and a link 46 pivotally connected at one end to the oat arm 34 isalso slidably connected to a pin 41 carried by the locking member 42 inorder that when the oat 33 rises to a predetermined point, the lockingmember 42 will be swung upwardly and out of locking engagement withroller 43 so that float arm may freely rise under the buoyance of float29.

The tank I4 has connected to the upper portion thereof a steam valve 48which communicates with the interior of tank I4 and is connected bymeans of a pipe 49 to the boiler I0. The valve 48 includes a verticallyymovable valve plug lstem 5I) which, in the lowered position of thefloats, is,` adapted to close the valve 48 against the entrance of steamin the upper portion of tank I4, The valve 48 is movedto an openposition when tank I4.is substantially lled by means of verticallymovableV slide rod 5I carried by a guide 52 .whichl is fixed to thebracket arm 35. The rod 5I is formed with` a right angularly disposedlower en'd5'3 which loosely engages in the slot 54 formed in thedownwardly projecting ear 55.formed as 'anfintegral part to the floatarm or lever 30.

The rod 5I has fixed on its upper end a slotted bar 56 within whichthelower end of the valve stem `SITlOOSely-engages. 'In this manner thevertical movement Vof yrod under the rise or fall of the intermediatefloat 29 will cause vertical `movement of the valveV stem 50 to Veitheropen or close the valve Y43.

In order to provide for the exhaust of steam or vluid which may. be inthe upper portion of -the ytank lfduring the `lling of the tank, I vhaveprovided .an exhaust valve 51 which is inteposedli'nlan exhaust ,pipe58. The pipe V58 is :cennectedto.theupper.portion of tank I4 and thevalve '511s norm'ally urged to an open position by means of a spring59.v

A secondlarm 60 is .carried by the upper end portion of rod `5I and withwhichthe stem IIl of thevalv'eY 51 is connected so that rwhen rod 5I is4moved upwardly to aposition where the steam valve 48 `will be`v open,the exhaust valve 51 will .at this time be closed. This, will preventthe release .of .any steam .pressure on top of the water whiehjis in thetank f4 `during Vthe emptying of thetank ofV waterinto the boiler .,IU.The supporting bar or arm 32 has extending downwardly therefrom a stopmemben 52hwhich-is adapted to be engaged by the lever arm39 when thisarm fSjn its lowmost 99.5.1139@ il .seco-nd, stop lugulis carried by.the arm 3 2 .and is radapted to limit lthe upward movement ofthe loatarm 39 after this arm hasubeenrreleasedby movement of the locking member.42 under the ac tionof the Yrise of the upper vfloat 33,` A .supportingarm 64 extends upwardly-from the arm A32 and hag arightnangularlydisposed stop member which-serves as a rest or stop to limit thedownwardmovement of the upper float lever :or arm 34. When the lever arm30 nrises after being released from the locking member 42, asecond-locking 4member IiY whicheisv pivotally carried .by the floatlever 30 -is adapted to engage aroller 61, The. roller :61 isfcarriedAby-an ear 68 fixed to the lower float lever arm 21 so that theintermediate valve operating float 29 will be prevented from closing thesteam valve 48 and opening the exhaust valve 51 until the tank I4 hasbeen substantially entirely emptied of water.

A stop member 69 is carried by the float arm 36 and extends downwardlytherefrom so as to limit the downward swinging of the locking member 66at the time the intermediate float 29 rises after being released fromthe locking member 42. The feeding tank I4 is connected to a supply tank10 which is disposed above the feeding tank and which is connected bymeans of a pipe 1I to a source of water supply under pressure. A floatoperated valve 12 is interposed in the pipe 1 I, being actuated by meansof a float 13 disposed in the tank 'ill for closing the valve 12 whentank 10 is substantially filled.

The tank l) is connected by means of a pipe 14 to the bottom of thefeeding tank I4 and a check valve 15 is interposed in the pipe 14 forpreventing flow of water under pressure from feeding tank I4 to supplytank 13. A manually operated valve 16 is also interposed in pipe 14 anda solenoid operated valve 11 is interposed in pipe 14 between manualvalve 15 and check valve 15. The solenoid or electrically operated valve11 is connected by means of a pair of conductors 18, 19, toV a floatoperated circuit maker and breaker v8i) of conventional constructionwhich is connected by means of Ya pipe BI to the pipe 82 with which thegage glass Il is connected.4

The supply tank1 .also has connected v,thereto a pipe83 which is adaptedvto be connected to the condenser for returning condensate from theelements associated with the boiler and receiving steam therefrom. Inorder to provide a means whereby water may be raised to the supplytank19in the event the pressure in the supply line 1I fails, I have provideda second feeding member generally designated as Illa, which sidenticalwith the construction shown in Figures 2 and 3. The auxiliary lowpressure member I'4a isdisposed below feeding member vI4 andis connectedby means of a pipe 94 to a source of low .pressure Water supply. 'Livesteam is supplied. to. the. .top of auxiliary feeding member 14a bymeans-,of a pipe d85 which is connected Yatone end tothe feeding member14a and is connected attheother end .to steamY pipe Y49.

An exhaustlpipeV 86 is connectedtothe top .of the auxiliary tank [4a andthe pipe 8B is connected with exhaust pipe 58. Pipe 86 isextendedupwardly and horizontally as at `8'! and is then connected toapreheating .coil which is extended through. a boss 88carried by thesupply tankfl and thenextended interiorly of tank 19. Areturn pipe 89extends from the heating coil and returns the steam-tothe auxiliaryor--lowpressure supply member I4a. A check valve SIL- is interposed .inthe pipe .89 to prevent therlreturn flowof-steam fromfeeding member I4athroughfpipe .891:0 supply tank lll.v

In` the use and .operation of this feedingsunit or system, water fromsupply tank 19'is permitted to gravitatingly flow into feedingtank. I4by oper1 ing of Vvalve 15. v The supplyof water however, will not flowinto tank I4 Yuntil electric valve.11 has Ybeen moved toan openposition. Whenthis electric valve is open, water from .tank 1li mayflowv into tank I-4. As tank I 4 fills, oats 26 29 will be urgedupwardly by their buoyancy and will be lockedagainst initialfupwardlymovement by means of locking member 42 operatively connected to upperfloat 33. After the. tank..fI4 has the top of tank I4.a from steam line85.

been substantially filled 'with water, oat 33 will rise moving lockingmember 42 to a released posiltion so that intermediate valve operatingfloat 29 intermediate valve controlling float 29 will be' In this mannerthe steam valve 48 will be held open until the tank I4 has beensubstantially emptied of water.

When the oat 26 loses its buoyancy by the fall of water, roller 61 willbe moved away from lower locking member 66 so that the valve operatingfloat 29and lever arm 35 may drop downwardly to a position where thesteam valve 48 is closed and the exhaust or vent valve 51 is opened. Thetank I4 is then ready for the second filling operation which willcontinue in the event the boiler ID can receive the second or additionalfeeding tank full of water.

In the event the pressure of water in the supply line 'I I issubstantially nil so that no water will flow from pipe Il into tank 10,water from a low pressure supply may be discharged into tank from lowpressure supply line 34. 'The buoyant valve operating means in tank I4a,which is similar to the structure shown in tank I4, will when tank I4ais full, open the steam valve to tank I4a permitting live steam to enterThis steam pressure will thereupon force the water in tank I4a through apipe 9| which is connected at its lower end to tank I4a and at its upperend to tank 10. A check valve 92 is interposed in pipe 9| to preventreturn flow of water from tank 'Hl to tank Ma.

With a feeding means for the boiler as hereinbefore described, theboiler is automatically fed with water when the boiler water drops to apredetermined point and this construction thereby eliminates anyinjection pump with the leaking glands which are associated with suchpumps. This feeding means will prevent the water in the boiler frombecoming completely exhausted so that there will not be any danger ofburning of the boiler plate or exploding of the boiler due tolexhaustion of the water therein.

What I desire to claim is:

l. A water feeding means for a boiler comprising in combination a steamboiler, a feeding tank above said boiler, venting means for said feedtank, a steam pipe connecting said tank with said boiler, a waterdischarge pipe connecting said tank with said boiler, a check valve insaid latter pipe, a valve interposed in said steam pipe, said lattervalve including a stem projecting into said tank, buoyant means in saidtank connected with said stem for opening said second valve when saidtank is substantially filled and for closing said second valve when saidtank is substantially empty, a water supply pipe conbuoyant means andsaid venting means for oprating said venting means simultaneously withand opposite to said valve in said steam pipe.

2. A Water feeding means for a boiler com prising in combination a steamboiler, a feeding tank ,above said boiler, a steam pipe connecting saidtank with said boiler, a water discharge pipe` connecting said tank withsaid boiler, a check valve in said latter pipe, a valve interposed insaid steam pipe, a water supply pipe vconnected to said tank, a checkvalve in said supply pipe,l

an electrically operated valve interposed in said supply pipe, buoyantcircuit closing means connected with said latter valve and responsive tothe water level in said boiler, an exhaust valve connected to said tank,buoyant operating means for said steam valve in said tank, and meansconnected with said latter buoyant operating means for opening saidexhaust valve when said steam valve is closed, and for closingsaid-exhaust valve when said steam valve is open.

3. A water feeding means comprising a steam boiler, a water tank abovesaid boiler, a steam pipe connecting said boiler with said tank, a waterdischarge pipe connecting said tank with said boiler, a check valve insaid discharge pipe, a steam valve connected to said steam pipe andcommunicating with said tank, buoyant valve operating means in said tankconnected tosaid steam valve and adapted to open said steam valve whensaid tank is-substantiallS7 lled and to close said steam valve when saidtank is substantially empty, said buoyant means including means renldering said buoyant means inactive unti1 said nected to' said tank, acheck valve in said suptankhas been substantially filled, and saidbuoyant means also including means holding said valve-open until saidtank has been substantially emptied, a vent valve communicating withsaid tank, an operative connection between said vent valve and saidbuoyant means for opening said vent valve when said tank issubstantially empty and said steam valve is closed, means dischargingwater into said tank, a check valve in said last mentioned means, andregulating means for said latter means for regulating the discharge ofwater into said tank according to the water level in said boiler.

4. A water feeding means comprising a steam boiler, a water tankabovesaid boiler, a steam pipe connecting said boiler with said tank, awater discharge pipe connecting said tank with said boiler, a checkvalve in said discharge pipe, a water supply pipe connected to saidtank, a check valve in said supply pipe, an electric valve interposed insaid supply pipe, buoyant regulating means carried by said boiler andconnected to said valve for effecting opening and closing of said valveaccording to the boiler water level, a steam valve carried by said tankconnected to said steam pipe and including a stem projecting into saidtank, a buoyant operator for said steam valve in said tank connected tosaid stem, said operator including means in said tank correlated withsaid operator for locking the latter against valve opening operationuntil said tank has been substantially iilled with water and vent meanscorrelated with said operator for venting said tank when the latter issubstantially empty and said steam valve is closed.

5. A water feeding means comprising a steam boiler, a water tank abovesaid boiler, a steam pipe connecting said boiler with said tank, a waterdischarge pipe connecting said tank with said boiler, a check valve insaid discharge pipe, a water supply pipe connected to said tank, a.

